A Weekly for Manhattan Makes Its Debut

By ALEX S. JONES

Published: September 24, 1987

The New York Observer, a community weekly tailored for the village of Manhattan, made its debut yesterday with a combination of hostility toward real-estate developers, personal columns by some well-known writers and no gossip or society news.

But though the paper's owner and publisher, Arthur L. Carter, said he wanted The Observer to be serious, he added that he was waiting to see what readers told him and would make changes accordingly.

''We have plenty of flexibility,'' said Mr. Carter, who also owns The Nation, the liberal weekly magazine. Ready to Spend Millions

Mr. Carter, who is 55 years old and a successful entrepreneur, added that he was prepared to spend up to $20 million to make The Observer a success. According to some of the paper's rivals, he may need that much or more.

''If Arthur Carter pulls it off, he's a genius, because I don't see it,'' said Leonard Stern, owner of The Village Voice and chairman of Hartz Mountain Inc. In February, Mr. Stern plans to start his own weekly - called 7 Days -which he said would be ''night and day different,'' though he declined to say how.

Others were more optimistic about The Observer's prospects.

''It's a serious paper with a targeted up-scale audience, who Arthur hopes will read it,'' said James C. Goodale, a lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton who is Mr. Carter's corporate counsel and secretary of New York Observer Inc.

''If they do, it will be an excellent advertising vehicle, and there are tons of retail establishments in New York with no place to advertise,'' added Mr. Good ale, who at one time was vice chairman of The New York Times Company.

In appearance, The Observer owes a debt to other papers. Resemblances Are Noted

Its peach-colored paper is the trademark of The Financial Times of London, its front-page design is reminiscent of The New York Times, and ''The New York Observer'' at the top of page 1 is a typographical dead ringer for ''The Wall Street Journal.''

Though the peach-colored paper is new, The Observer otherwise resembles The Litchfield County Times, a weekly paper based in New Milford, Conn., that Mr. Carter started in 1980.

John D. Sicher, formerly a lawyer in New York, is editor of both The Litchfield County Times and The Observer, though he said he was spending most of his time in New York.

Based on the first issue, which was released yesterday morning and will be published Wednesdays, The Observer will be a strong opponent of real-estate developers, especially the larger ones.

For instance, the lead article compared the efforts to stop Mortimer B. Zuckerman's proposed development at Columbus Circle with a similar effort two decades ago by citizens in Boston. In both cases, the bone of contention was a Zuckerman project that would cast a shadow over a public park. Columnist Jabs at Trump

Similarly a column called ''Wise Guys,'' by a former Village Voice reporter, Tom Robbins, dismissed any Presidential bid by Donald Trump as extremely unlikely because it was strongly supported by Abe Hirschfeld, another real-estate developer whom Mr. Robbins ridiculed.

Such irreverent humor is far less common in The Observer than more straightforward reporting by its 25-member news staff. The emphasis here is on issues related to real estate and zoning.

But the first issue of The Observer also devoted much space to personal columns by writers who are well-known to many Manhattanites. Among them were Francine du Plessix Gray, Rex Reed, John L. Hess and Michael M. Thomas, a writer of books on financial matters.

As publisher, Mr. Carter said he would devote himself mainly to business matters but would also set overall editorial policy.

He said that The Observer would not be infused with political ideology, as is The Nation, and that its editorial perspective would be less stridently liberal. Caution on Park Plan Advised

In one editorial, The Observer asked if it was advisable to build a new tennis house in Central Park. It concluded with the hope that Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern ''proceeds slowly and analyzes carefully before going forward.''

Another editorial on city planning declared, ''The city does not belong only to the developers.''

The Observer also devoted space to service features, including a consumer column that rated a group of up-scale shoe shops by, among other things, price. Perry Ellis was on the less expensive end of the shops described.

A calendar of recommended public events was on the back page.

According to Mr. Carter, 35,000 copies of The Observer are being mailed to households in Manhattan, with an invitation to examine the paper for a month or two and then subscribe. The paper costs 50 cents on the newsstand, and its stated year's subscription rate is $22. Advertising Goal Outlined

Mr. Carter said The Observer needed to publish about 14 pages of advertising weekly to approach the break-even point. The initial 24-page issue had about seven pages of ads, most from businesses that cater to the wealthy.

All of the first issue's ads were sold at a 25 percent discount, Mr. Carter said. A full-page ad at full rate will cost $2,500, he added - not expensive, by New York standards.

Mr. Carter said his original stake was $3,000 in bar mitzvah presents that he received in 1944 and kept in the bank. He graduated from Brown University and earned a master's degree in business administration from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth University.

In the late 1950's, using his stake, Mr. Carter said, he helped found a brokerage firm, Carter, Berlind & Weill, which he left in 1970. His wanted to manage his own money instead of that of clients, he said. The firm later evolved into what is now Shearson Lehman Brothers.

Mr. Carter began searching for publishing ventures as investments in the mid-1970's.

Photo of Arthur L. Carter, owner and publisher The New York Observer (NYT/Jack Manning)